MDA and Creative Agency to Host Muscle Team Fundraiser Oct. 21

The Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) will partner with the creative agency 50,000feet for the fifth year to help the nonprofit raise money for new research and therapies for neuromuscular diseases.

The MDA will host a 2016 Muscle Team fundraiser Oct. 21 in Chicago, and 50,000feet’s brand expertise will be crucial to advance the nonprofit’s mission.

On Oct. 21, the 2016 Muscle Team – MDA’s professional athlete arm – will put its muscles to work at Chicago’s Navy Pier to raise funds   searching for a cure and treatments for neuromuscular diseases.

The fundraising event will feature cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, entertainment, live and silent auctions, and other attractions.

“As we count down to our 2016 Muscle Team event, we’re reminded of the wonderful relationships we’ve built which help us continue our fight, year after year,” Sarah Coleman, executive director of MDA, said in a press release.

“It’s because of organizations like 50,000feet that we’re able to share a message of hope, raising awareness of the debilitating conditions faced by thousands, as well as fundraising for treatments and cures,” Sarah Coleman, executive director of MDA, said in a press release.

50,000feet is an independent creative agency that was founded in 2001 to develop integrated communications, including brand identity systems, marketing, and advertising. Last year, 50,000feet partnered with the Chicago MDA chapter to align local communications efforts with the organization’s recent rebranding initiative.

With its partners, MDA has been able to fund research that has revealed the genetic defects behind muscular dystrophy. The organization also takes a broad perspective on other neuromuscular diseases, such as Charcot-Marie-Tooth and ALS, so researchers can reach across diseases to help find effective treatments and cures. MDA aims to bring about change by leveraging its many partnerships, including 50,000feet.

“We are honored to be able to help raise the visibility of the incredible work that MDA does — whether here in Chicago or around the world,” said Ken Fox, a principal at 50,000feet.

Neuromuscular diseases affect the nerves of voluntary muscles – those that we control, like our arms or legs. Nerve cells, or neurons, send messages that control these muscles. When neurons become unhealthy, communication between the body’s central nervous system (CNS) and its muscles start to fail, and muscles weaken and waste away.

This weakness can lead to twitching, cramps, aches and pains, as well as joint movement problems. It can even affect the heart or the muscles involved in breathing.

Many patients with neuromuscular diseases need support through their journey, so the MDA organizes events like the annual Muscle Team to bring the MDA community closer to others in their area while raising funds for research and patient services.

A VIP reception at the 2016 Muscle Team event is from 6 to 7 p.m., and a cocktail reception and evening program is from 6:30 until 10 p.m. More information is available here.